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Our homepage was updated with a new look and feel on December 20, 2018. The remaining webpages and content will transition to Alberta.ca over the next few months. Information will be posted to help guide you to updated content during and after this transition.

International Languages

Alberta Education has provincial programs of study in seven International Languages at the elementary level: Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Punjabi, Spanish and Ukrainian.

International Languages programs include:

Bilingual programs, where in addition to Languages Arts (Kindergarten to Grade 12), the language is used for instruction in other courses up to a total of 50% of the school day, and

Language and Culture courses, where the language is studied to develop communication and intercultural and strategic skills, and to build an appreciation for the culture.

Language and Culture programs may begin in one or more of the following elementary entry points:

Kindergarten/Grade 1 (Twelve-year Language and Culture Programs) and

Grade 4 (Nine-year Language and Culture Programs).

School authorities determine which language programs to offer, based on their resources and community needs. If a language is not available as a provincial program, school authorities can acquire or develop a locally-developed course, according to the process outlined in the Guide to Education.